Mercedes and Audi neck-and-neck as the sun comes up at Spa

30 July 2017

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At 7 am, with the sun just coming up from behind the hills of the Ardennes over the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, the #1 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi is leading in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, having taken over first place as the #85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes came in for its mandatory five minutes’ technical pit stop as the last one from the front runners. The #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes is now second, with the #98 ROWE Racing BMW third.

The night finally brought the rain shower everybody at Spa had been more or less expecting, but even without the rain – that didn’t last very long anyway – there was plenty of action on the track. Early in the night, the #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes retired after Félix Serralles crashed out in an attempt to overtake a backmarker at Stavelot. Then, the #18 Black Falcon Mercedes and the #00 Good Smile Racing & Team UKYO Mercedes collided, putting both cars out of contention.

In the 14th hour, the long-time leading #55 Kaspersky Motorsport Ferrari crashed out at Raidillon after contact with the #90 AKKA ASP Mercedes at La Source. Just before, there had been an extended safety car intervention following a collision between the #77 Barwell Lamborghini and the #11 Kessel Racing Ferrari.

The #16 Black Falcon Mercedes holds on to its Pro-Am class lead with a three laps’ margin from the #97 Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin. The #961 Spirit of Race Ferrari is third, another lap down.

Ferrari teams still hold a 1-2 in the AM class with the #488 Rinaldi Ferrari leading the #888 Kessel Racing entry. The #26 Saintéloc Audi is third in class. The #991 Speedlover Porsche is the only remaining car in the national class.